Blue Wing represents CPS' first foray into utility-scale solar energy. Already the largest purchaser of wind power of any municipally owned utility in the country, CPS has a goal of adding 100 megawatts of nonwind, renewable energy to its portfolio by 2020.

"This project launches our venture into solar power," Beneby said.

CPS has a contract to buy all the power the 14-megawatt Blue Wing facility will generate for 30 years, and it recently signed a deal with SunEdison to buy power from three 10-megawatt farms to be built in the area.

Sen. John Cornyn, on hand for the dedication, extolled Texas' leadership on energy issues. Long on the forefront of the oil and gas business, Texas has "thoroughly embraced other alternative forms," he said.

Blue Wing, designed and built by juwi solar of Colorado and owned by Duke Energy, may be the first solar farm of its size in Texas, Cornyn continued, "but I can promise you it won't be the last."

Statewide, at least six more projects are in earlier stages of development.

Even if all the projects get built, they would create a mere sliver of the electricity Texans consume.

Until the big plants are up and adding electricity to the grid, that power remains primarily potential. And tapping it will be controversial as long as solar is expensive relative to energy from other sources.

Yet proponents insist that diversifying the state's electricity portfolio is crucial to Texas' continued economic growth. Solar power has a bright future here, they say, with economic as well as environmental benefits.

But it's expensive.

The cost factor

Electricity generated by solar-photovoltaic technology today costs five times as much to produce as coal-fired energy, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

While CPS won't release the price it will pay for Blue Wing power, sources say the utility will pay about 16 cents per kilowatt hour under the deal with SunEdison. Coal power costs the utility 1 to 2 cents per kilowatt hour for plants that are paid off; that jumps to between 7 and 11 cents if the cost of the plant is included.

Solar is costly even compared with other renewable sources, especially wind, which is narrowing the price gap with fossil fuels. The Energy Information Administration predicts that by 2016, photovoltaic power on average will remain more than twice as expensive as wind-generated.

But CPS doesn't make decisions based on costs alone. A diverse portfolio of sources is important for hedging against price volatility and a likely future price on carbon emissions.

State Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, also contends that renewable energy, particularly solar, "is where the market is headed" and Texas would be wise to support the fledgling industry.

He sponsored legislation in 2009 that would have provided rebates for individuals adding solar panels to their homes and for companies building utility-scale solar plants.

That bill, one of dozens of solar-related measures introduced during the session, never made it to the House floor. Strama is working on a new package of legislation for the 2011 session, but it could face an even tougher test in the face of a budget crunch and a presumably more fiscally conservative Legislature.

Supporters see jobs

The solar industry already has spurred work in the state. The recently released 2010 National Solar Jobs Census ranks Texas third among states, with an estimated 6,400 solar jobs at 170 companies.

But the list, compiled by the nonprofit Solar Foundation, shows Texas far behind the No. 1 state. California boasts more than 1,000 solar companies and six times as many solar jobs as Texas.

Thanks to Blue Wing, San Antonio also has benefited. While it doesn't take many employees to run a solar farm, at its construction peak, Blue Wing employed 115 workers, who generated more than 100,000 labor-hours of construction work.

In addition, about $2 million in local purchases were made during construction, officials calculated. San Antonio-based subcontractors will provide ongoing electrical and landscaping maintenance.

Mayor Julián Castro and CPS' Beneby both have emphasized the potential for economic development that can come with additional solar investment. CPS currently is negotiating with SunEdison on several possibilities, including the opening of a SunEdison office in San Antonio.

But not everyone has jumped onto the solar bandwagon.

Some still wary

The Texas Association of Manufacturers, which opposed another 2009 bill to establish minimum levels of energy from renewable sources, says it supports "properly structured incentives." But the group remains wary.

"We have concerns with energy projects that are based on government mandates and are ultimately funded by captive ratepayers," executive director Luke Bellsnyder said in a statement. "Projects that are only financially possible because the costs will be passed on to customers - through above-market rates - are not a good deal for consumers and businesses."

Proponents like Castro counter that with talk of jobs up and down the supply chain, from construction to grant-funded academic research to new businesses that supply and service the plants.

For example, glass panels are expensive to ship, and the right incentives could persuade manufacturers to build plants in the state.

The Blue Wing site also includes a 500-kilowatt research and demonstration facility made up of eight different solar technologies, including a 50-foot-tall "concentrating" solar photovoltaic system that tracks the movement of the sun. Those new technologies someday may help increase the output at Blue Wing, Beneby said.

But Strama and others warn that without government support, Texas is at risk of losing the next generation of energy jobs to other states, despite Texas' deep roots in energy and its aggressive development of wind.

Luke Metzger of Environment Texas added another reason why elected officials might want to take solar seriously: popular support.

"Polls show 80 percent of Texans want to see solar developed and support incentives to make it happen," he said.